Friday, September 28, 2012

About this time eleven years ago, I took a plane trip to Texas. It was my first flight after 9-11 and everyone was still shaky about air travel. Many of my friends advised me to postpone my trip, as they thought it was too soon to fly and were concerned about what might happen. But I had longtime plans to be in Houston to celebrate my mom’s birthday, and despite my fears and anxiety it was an occasion that I did not want to miss.

This year, I found myself back in Texas on her birthday. Last week I was in Abilene for the West Texas Book Festival, and when I learned that I’d have a layover in Dallas, I decided to extend it from a few hours to a few days so I could see my family. But as soon as I made those plans, I started feeling anxious. The airline I was on was experiencing problems, which made returning on time a shaky proposition. I began to worry.

Now, at this point I had a choice—I could fret about my plans and make myself miserable, or I could just let it go and enjoy the precious time I was spending with my family. As I did eleven years, I opted to stay the course. And it was the right decision as we ended up having a landmark time.

Sometimes I tend to over analyze events, but I do think the lesson I learned this trip was important. I often get so wrapped up in my working life that I find it hard to pause and savor those rare moments shared with those special people in my life.
When I was growing up, I had a laid-back friend who measured the importance of every decision by asking the question, “Will this matter in five years?” And it’s true—in five years I would probably not recall the content of my working day if I’d opted to return early to New York. But in five years I’ll definitely remember the fine time my family and I had in honor of my mom’s birthday. We cooked, we sang and we ate slices of pie—it doesn’t get much better than that!

I’d like to tell you more about my trip and soon I will. For now, however, I’ll leave you with a plate of chocolate pecan sticky bars—gooey layers of chocolate and pecans sandwiched in an oatmeal cookie crust. I think you’ll like them.

These are adapted from Lou Lambert’s recipe for Carmelita bars, though I cheated a bit and swapped out the caramel for sweetened condensed milk. That said, the sweetened condensed milk caramelizes as it bakes, so it’s a fair exchange. I also added cinnamon and sprinkled flaked sea salt on top for a salty kick.

These chocolate pecan sticky bars were baked for my mom’s birthday, as they travel well and she has quite the sweet tooth. That said, neither a trip nor a birthday is required to make these. Nope, all you really need is a simple desire to show those you love just how much you care.

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and fully line a 9-inch square pan with foil, leaving the ends draped over the edge. To insure the bars do not stick, either use non-stick foil or lightly grease the foil.

To make the bars, cream together the butter and the brown sugar until smooth. Whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, and then stir into the butter and sugar mixture until well combined. Take half the dough and pat it into the bottom of the pan and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, and pour over the oatmeal cookie base half of the sweetened condensed milk, half of the chocolate chips and half of the pecans. Crumble the remaining oatmeal cookie dough into the pan and then pour over it the rest of the sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips and pecans.

Return the pan to the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are set and the bars are lightly browned. If using, sprinkle the flaked sea salt on top immediately after removing from the oven. Cover the pan and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours so the bars can continue to harden. To serve, lift the Carmelita bars out of the pan before slicing.

38 comments:

This is such a timely article for me. On Monday, a close friend was killed. Murdered actually. It is still hard to say that word. What matters is not what you might have done but what you did. There are no dress rehearsals.

God was gracious and gave me a chance to speak to him just a few weeks ago. I am so glad you took the time to spend with your family. Each day is a gift.

I couldn't wait, I ordered your cookbook 'cause I do get sooooo homesick for Texas food and you have captured the best way to make it far away from home. I have to compromise on some things as in Oz they don't have some of the ingredients but we "make do" the best we can and savor the results. Thanks!!

Oh, my. I need more oatmeal, and I need it NOW!! These will be on our table very, very soon.

Thanks! Yes, you made the correct decision 11 years ago and you made it again this/last week. My most precious memories with my parents are those late in their lives. There are many other good ones, but those which required a bit of sacrifice on my part are the absolute best.

The recipe looks delicious, and the post, as always, is from the heart, honest and simple, and reads like a very good book. Yep, I am a fan.

I guess you could say The Homesick Texan Cookbook made us so homesick for Texas that we decided to move back here. Truthfully, after an absence of 6 years, it was a job offer that lured us to return, but your cookbook, I swear, helped sell our house. The couple that bought it was indeed homesick for Texas and when the woman saw your cookbook sitting in my kitchen (yes I staged my kitchen with it, it is so attractive) she said it "spoke" to her - LOL! :) At any rate, your cookbook is not only special to me because it was a Christmas gift from my daughter, but also because I'm no longer homesick for Texas. (It is my favorite cookbook, and I have a ton!)

I'm making them today, well a version anyhow. I have no pecans but do have walnuts, am allergic to chocolate so using carob chips, and just used part of a recipe of oatmeal cookies to double your recipe. My family is excited to try them though because I bake so rarely anymore.

I have a dear friend coming into town this weekend for serious medical tests. I have invited all sorts of friends to have dinner and commune with her the night before tests begin. These treats will be part of our celebration of all the years we have all loved each other. I will make them with my mom's front yard West Texas pecan trees. Thanks for the recipe.

Lisa, hope you will share some of the context of the speech you made back in Texas. I think we would all enjoy that. Whenever I come here to check out a recipe or read what you have to say I always feel like I've taken a little trip back to Texas. I hope you didn't suffer any damage from Sandy.

SERIOUSLY!!!!! This must be the most DIVINE sweet EVER!!!! :) :) :) Just had a piece hot and fresh out of the oven - it was just no way I was going to wait for it to cool down!!! WOW!!! Also, another great thing about these is that they're egg-free. I just know what I'm going to make for my dad when I go home to Norway for Christmas! He's allergic to eggs so he is not much of a cake eater but I am positive that he'd enjoy these tremedously! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Happy Thanksgiving. Best regards, Camilla

......and now I have tried it cold from the fridge (as per description in your recipe). These are MAGIC!!!!!! :):):) Two in one I'd say, either hot and soft from the oven (as a brownie) or cold, sticky, chewy from the fridge. Awsome either way! Have a great Sunday! Best, Camilla

Lisa, I'm a northerner now living in your home state. Seems we switched locations. The three pecan trees on my property produced well this year and I was searching for "gooey and chewy and chocolaty" pecan recipes to use them up. Your recipe fits the bill and sounds fantastic!!! Thanks so much!